Category:Seals (insignia)

A seal is a kind of device, an emblematic design used to identify the adopter.also:A seal is a device, or an iconographic 'graphic' meant to portray a story, god, ideology, an institution, etc. (Modern society seals-(21st century) can be generated by computers, no "seal-device", required.)

1.
Seal (emblem)
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A seal is a device for making an impression in wax, clay, paper, or some other medium, including an embossment on paper, and is also the impression thus made. The original purpose was to authenticate a document, a wrapper for one such as a modern envelope, the seal-making device is also referred to as the seal matrix or die, the imprint it creates as the seal impression. In most traditional forms of dry seal the design on the matrix is in intaglio. The design on the impression will reverse that of the matrix and this will not be the case if paper is embossed from behind, where the matrix and impression read the same way, and both matrix and impression are in relief. However engraved gems were carved in relief, called cameo in this context. The process is essentially that of a mould and these pendent seal impressions dangled below the documents they authenticated, to which the attachment tag was sewn or otherwise attached. Some jurisdictions consider rubber stamps or specified signature-accompanying words such as seal or L. S. to be the equivalent of, i. e. an equally effective substitute for. In Europe, although coats of arms and heraldic badges may well feature in such contexts as well as on seals, the study of seals is known as sigillography or sphragistics. Seals were used in the earliest civilizations and are of importance in archaeology. In ancient Mesopotamia carved or engraved cylinder seals in stone or other materials were used and these could be rolled along to create an impression on clay, and used as labels on consignments of trade goods, or for other purposes. They are normally hollow and it is presumed that they were worn on a string or chain round the neck, many have only images, often very finely carved, with no writing, while others have both. From Ancient Egypt seals in the form of signet-rings, including some with the names of kings, have been found, recently, seals have come to light in South Arabia datable to the Himyarite age. One example shows a name written in Aramaic engraved in reverse so as to read correctly in the impression, from the beginning of the 3rd millennium BC until the Middle Ages, seals of various kinds were in production in the Aegean islands and mainland Greece. In the Early Minoan age these were formed of stone and ivory. By the Middle Minoan age a new set for seal forms, motifs, hard stone requires new rotary carving techniques. The Late Bronze Age is the par excellence of the lens-shaped seal and the seal ring. These were a luxury art form and became keenly collected. His collection fell as booty to Pompey the Great, who deposited it in a temple in Rome, engraved gems continued to be produced and collected until the 19th century

2.
Iconography
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The word iconography comes from the Greek εἰκών and γράφειν. A secondary meaning is the production of images, called icons, in the Byzantine and Orthodox Christian tradition. In art history, an iconography may also mean a depiction of a subject in terms of the content of the image, such as the number of figures used, their placing. Sometimes distinctions have been made between iconology and iconography, although the definitions, and so the distinction made, varies, when referring to movies, genres are immediately recognizable through their iconography, motifs that become associated with a specific genre through repetition. Gian Pietro Bellori, a 17th-century biographer of artists of his own time, describes and analyses, not always correctly, many works. Lessings study of the classical figure Amor with a torch was an early attempt to use a study of a type of image to explain the culture it originated in. These early contributions paved the way for encyclopedias, manuals, mâles lArt religieux du XIIIe siècle en France translated into English as The Gothic Image, Religious Art in France of the Thirteenth Century has remained continuously in print. In the United States, to which Panofsky immigrated in 1931, students such as Frederick Hartt, the period from 1940 can be seen as one where iconography was especially prominent in art history. These are now being digitised and made online, usually on a restricted basis. For example, the Iconclass code 71H7131 is for the subject of Bathsheba with Davids letter, whereas 71 is the whole Old Testament and 71H the story of David. A number of collections of different types have been classified using Iconclass, notably types of old master print, the collections of the Gemäldegalerie, Berlin. These are available, usually on-line or on DVD, the system can also be used outside pure art history, for example on sites like Flickr. Central to the iconography and hagiography of Indian religions are mudra or gestures with specific meanings, the symbolic use of colour to denote the Classical Elements or Mahabhuta and letters and bija syllables from sacred alphabetic scripts are other features. Under the influence of art developed esoteric meanings, accessible only to initiates. The art of Indian Religions esp, for example, Narasimha an incarnation of Vishnu though considered a wrathful deity but in few contexts is depicted in pacified mood. Conversely, in Hindu art, narrative scenes have become more common in recent centuries, especially in miniature paintings of the lives of Krishna. Eventually the Church would succeed in weeding most of these out, after the period of Byzantine iconoclasm iconographical innovation was regarded as unhealthy, if not heretical, in the Eastern Church, though it still continued at a glacial pace. More than in the West, traditional depictions were often considered to have authentic or miraculous origins, the Eastern church also never accepted the use of monumental high relief or free-standing sculpture, which it found too reminiscent of paganism

3.
Bulla (seal)
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A Bulla is an inscribed clay or soft metal or bitumen or wax token used in commercial and legal documentation as a form of identification and for tamper-proofing whatever is attached to it. In this form, bullae represent one of the earliest forms of specialization in the ancient world, Bullae are still occasionally attached to documents for these purposes. During the period 8, 000–7,500 BCE, the Sumerian agriculturalists needed a way to keep records of their animals, small clay tokens were formed and shaped by the palms to represent certain animals and goods. Clay tokens allowed for agriculturalists to keep track of animals and food that had been traded, stored, because grain production became such a major part of life, they needed to store their extra grain in shared facilities and account for their food. This clay token system went unchanged for about 4,000 years until the tokens started to more elaborate in appearance. The tokens were similar in size, material, and color, as the growth of goods being produced grew and the exchanging of goods became more common, changes to tokens were made to keep up with the growth. Transactions for trading needed to be accounted for efficiently, so the clay tokens were placed in a ball to keep the tokens together. This helped with dishonesty and kept all the tokens together, in order to account for the tokens, the bulla would have to be crushed to reveal their content. Eventually seals were impressed into the clay alongside of the impression of the tokens, each party had its own unique seal to identify them. Seals would not only individuals, but it would also identify their office. As the clay tokens and bulla became difficult to store and handle, clay tablets were easier to store, neater to write on, and less likely to be lost. Impressing the tokens on clay tablets was more efficient but using a stylus to inscribe the impression on the tablet was shown to be even more efficient. Around 3,100 BCE signs expressing numerical value began, by now, clay tokens became obsolete, a thing of the past. During the early Bronze Age, urban economies developed due to urban settlements, the recording of trade became necessary because production, shipments, inventories, and wage payments had to be noted, and merchants needed to preserve records of their transactions. Tokens were replaced by pictographic tablets that could not only how many but also where, when. This was the beginning of Sumerian cuneiform, the first known writing system, the Sumerians developed a complex system of metrology as early as 3000 BCE. From 2600 BCE. onwards, the Sumerians wrote multiplication tables, division problems, the earliest evidences of the Babylonian numerals also date back to this period. This evidence may suggest that Bulla evolved into forms of mathematics

4.
Crusader states
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The name also refers to other territorial gains made by medieval Christendom against Muslim and pagan adversaries. The Crusader States in the Levant were the Kingdom of Jerusalem, the Principality of Antioch, the County of Tripoli, the Eastern Romans, or Byzantines, partially recovered lost territory on numerous occasions but over time gradually lost all but Anatolia and parts of Thrace and the Balkans. In the West, the Roman Catholic kingdoms of northern Iberia launched a series of known as the Reconquista to reconquer the peninsula from the Arabized Berbers known as Moors. The conquered Iberian principalities are not customarily called Crusader states, except for the Kingdom of Valencia, professor Barber indicates that, in the Crusader State of the Kingdom of Jerusalem the Holy Sepulchre was added to in the 7th century and rebuilt in 1022, after a previous collapse. The situation represented an existential threat for the Eastern Orthodox Byzantine Empire. The Emperor sent a plea to the Pope in Rome to send military aid with the goal of restoring the formerly Christian territories to Christian rule, the result was a series of western European military campaigns into the eastern Mediterranean, known as the Crusades. The first four Crusader states were created in the Levant immediately after the First Crusade, The first Crusader state, the Principality of Antioch, founded in 1098, lasted until 1268. The Kingdom of Jerusalem, founded in 1099, lasted until 1291, the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia had its origins before the Crusades, but was granted the status of a kingdom by Pope Innocent III, and later became fully westernized by the Lusignan dynasty. During the Third Crusade, the Crusaders founded the Kingdom of Cyprus, Richard I of England conquered Cyprus on his way to Holy Land. The Templars promptly returned the island to Richard who resold it to the displaced King of Jerusalem Guy of Lusignan in 1192. For much of its history under the Lusignan Kings, Cyprus was a prosperous Medieval Kingdom, the Kingdoms decline began when it became embroiled in the dispute between the Italian Merchant Republics of Genoa and Venice. Indeed, the Kingdoms decline can be traced to a war with Genoa in 1373–74 which ended with the Genoese occupying the principal port City of Famagusta. Eventually with the help of Venice, the Kingdom recovered Famagusta but by then it was too late and in any event, venetian rule over Cyprus lasted for just over 80 years until 1571, when the Ottoman Empire under Sultan Selim II Sarkhosh invaded and captured the entire island. These states faced the attacks of the Byzantine Greek successor states of Nicaea and Epirus, thessalonica and the Latin Empire were reconquered by the Byzantine Greeks by 1261. Descendants of the Crusaders continued to rule in Athens and the Peloponnesus until the 15th century when the area was conquered by the Ottoman Empire. The military order of the Knights Hospitaller of Saint John established itself on Rhodes in 1310, with influx of new blood. The island of Kastellorizo was taken by the Knights of St, other neighbouring territories temporarily under the order were, the cities of Smyrna, Attaleia, the city of Salona and the islands of Ikaria and Kos, all now in Greece. The coins minted in Jerusalem during the 12th century show patriarchal crosses with various modifications, coins minted under Henry I show a cross with four dots in the four quarters, but the Jerusalem cross proper appears only on a coin minted under John II

5.
Cylinder seal
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Cylinder seals were invented around 3500 BC in the Near East, at the contemporary sites of Susa in south-western Iran and Uruk in southern Mesopotamia. They are linked to the invention of the cuneiform writing on clay tablets. They were used as a tool, a form of signature, as well as jewelry and as magical amulets. In later periods, they were used to notarize or attest to multiple impressions of clay documents, graves and other sites housing precious items such as gold, silver, beads, and gemstones often included one or two cylinder seals, as honorific grave goods. The cylinder seals themselves are made from hardstones, and some are a form of engraved gem. They may instead use glass or ceramics, like Egyptian faience, many varieties of material such as hematite, obsidian, steatite, amethyst, lapis lazuli and carnelian were used to make cylinder seals. As the alluvial country of Mesopotamia lacks good stone for carving, most seals have a hole running through the centre of the body, and they are thought to have typically been worn on a necklace so that they were always available when needed. While most Mesopotamian cylinder seals form an image through the use of depressions in the cylinder surface, the former are used primarily on wet clays, the latter, sometimes referred to as roller stamps, are used to print images on cloth and other similar two dimensional surfaces. Cylinder seals are a form of seal, a category which includes the stamp seal. They survive in large numbers and are often important as art, especially in the Babylonian. Impressions into a material can be taken without risk of damage to the seal. Instead of addressing the authority of the seal, a study may be of the thematic nature of the seals, since they presented the ideas of the society in pictographic. In a famous cylinder depicting Darius I of Persia, he is aiming his drawn bow at an upright enraged lion impaled by two arrows, while his horse is trampling a deceased lion. The scene is framed between two palm trees, a block of cuneiform text, and above the scene, the Faravahar symbol of Ahura Mazda. The reference below, Garbini, covers many of the categories of cylinder seal. Dominique Collons book First Impressions, which is dedicated to the topic, has over 1000 illustrations, a categorization of cylinder seals, Akkadian cylinder seals. Akkadian seal, ca.2300 BC, stone seal w/ modern impression, the glyptic shows God in barge, people, and offerings. Predynastic Egyptian Naqada era tombs and graves, Egyptian Faience, see Pepi I ext link

6.
Engraved gem
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An engraved gem is a small gemstone, usually semi-precious, that has been carved, in the Western tradition normally with images or inscriptions only on one face. The engraving of gemstones was a luxury art form in the ancient world. Strictly speaking, engraving means carving in intaglio, but relief carvings are covered by the term. This article uses cameo in its sense, to denote a carving exploiting layers of differently coloured stone. The activity is also called gem carving, and the artists gem-cutters, vessels like the Cup of the Ptolemies and heads or figures carved in the round are also known as hardstone carvings and similar terms. Glyptics, or glyptic art, covers the field of small carved stones, including seals and inscriptions. A finely carved seal was practical, as it made more difficult – the distinctive personal signature did not really exist in antiquity. Gems were mostly cut by using abrasive powder from harder stones in conjunction with a hand-drill, emery has been mined for abrasive powder on Naxos since antiquity. Some early types of seal were cut by hand, rather than a drill, there is no evidence that magnifying lenses were used by gem cutters in antiquity. A medieval guide to gem-carving techniques survives from Theophilus Presbyter, byzantine cutters used a flat-edged wheel on a drill for intaglio work, while Carolingian ones used round-tipped drills, it is unclear where they learnt this technique from. In intaglio gems at least, the cut surface is usually very well preserved. The colour of several gemstones can be enhanced by a number of methods, using heat, sugar. Many of these can be shown to have used since antiquity – since the 7th millennium BC in the case of heating. The technique has an ancient tradition in the Near East, and is represented in all or most early cultures from the area, and these were made in various types of stone, not all hardstone. The Greek tradition emerged in Ancient Greek art under Minoan influence on mainland Helladic culture, pre-Hellenic Ancient Egyptian seals tend to have inscriptions in hieroglyphs rather than images. The Biblical Book of Exodus describes the form of the hoshen, round or oval Greek gems are found from the 8th and 7th centuries BC, usually with animals in energetic geometric poses, often with a border marked by dots or a rim. Early examples are mostly in softer stones, Gems of the 6th century are more often oval, with a scarab back, and human or divine figures as well as animals, the scarab form was apparently adopted from Phoenicia. The forms are sophisticated for the period, despite the small size of the gems

7.
Knights Templar Seal
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There was also a smaller, single-sided seal, which showed the Dome of the Rock, only. Different seals were used by provincial masters of the order, according to a papal bull issued by Innocent IV in 1251, it was customary for successive provincial masters to use the same seal. MINISTRI TEMPLI1 ARAGON7 CATALON, the reverse of Bertrand de Blancaforts seal, Master of the Temple 1168 in Staatsarchiv Amberg The reverse of Grand Master William de Chartres seal from 1214 also depicts the Dome of the Rock. In heraldry, a Lamb of God is a lamb passant proper, with a halo or charged with a cross gules, and the dexter forelimb reflexed over a cross staff from which a pennon of St. George is flotant. The seals of the Masters of the Temple in England, of Aimery de St Maur,1200, Robert of Sandford,1241, Richard of Hastings, 1160–85, and William de la More,1304, showed the agnus Dei. SIGILLVM TEMPLI The obverse of a used by William de la More, master,1304. The seal is called commune sigillum capituli, the seal symbolic of their vow of poverty, showing two knights riding on one horse appears only to have been used by the order in France, there is no example of its use in England. Some of the seals of the English Templars were a semi-typical Pascal lamb bearing sometimes, not the flag of St George, but the Beauseant, other seals, Durham Cathedral Muniments, Medieval Seal G&B reference number,3388 Knights of the Temple 1304 Description, Round. The Templar Seal showing two knights on one horse, there are many interpretations of the symbolism of this seal. Contemporary legend held that the symbol represented the poverty of the order. Still, the Rule of the Order from the outset permitted three horses and no more for each knight, as well as no Templars sharing the same horse, several masters adopted this seal from the beginning of the order until at least 1298. It is known to have been in use since 1167, the Rule forbids two riders on the same beast. This is the earliest known seal for the Grand Master of the Temple forty years after the Order was formed, use of this symbol continued under subsequent Grand Masters for as long as the Order survived, however the seal went through more than one incarnation. The Reynaut de Vichiers, who was Master of the Temple from 1255-1259 depict same images, the seals of the Grand Masters have textual differences, Blancheforts seal, SIGILLUM MILITUM obverse, CHRISTI DE TEMPLO reverse. While Vichiers motto is written in Latin, the word Christ begins with Greek letters rather than the Latin CHR, the XP symbol arose early in Christianity and entered popular usage after the legendary pre-battle vision of Chi Rho and Christian conversion of the 4th century Roman Emperor Constantine. From the time of Constantine, XP was a significant symbol of Christianity, Early military associations make Chi Rho an apt symbol for the Templars. On de Vichiers seal, Chi Rho is visible on the shields of the knights, the Double-Headed Eagle is more commonly associated with the highest rank earned by a Scottish Rite Mason. Bertram von Esbeck, Master of the Temple in Germany,1296 depicts an eagle with two six-pointed stars, legend, SIGILLUM MILICIE TEMPLI IN DERTOSA Aragon, Alfambra,1248

8.
LMLK seal
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LMLK seals are ancient Hebrew seals stamped on the handles of large storage jars dating from reign of King Hezekiah discovered mostly in and around Jerusalem. Several complete jars were found in situ buried under a destruction caused by Sennacherib at Lachish. While none of the seals have been found, some 2,000 impressions made by at least 21 seal types have been published. The other three form the word melech, as shown above, its translation can refer to a specific king, to any king. Though most of these stamped jar handles have been found in the southern kingdom, furthermore, approximately 10–20 percent of the excavated jars and jar handles were stamped. The icons symbolize either royal stature or a religious nature, the super-inscription, LMLK, denotes the Judean government or a specific, divine being. The sub-inscriptions record either 4 places or 4 votive statements, engraving styles indicate at least two, possibly five, people made the seals. Researchers frequently use a lowercase x as a character when referring to a series such as x4C instead of using an uppercase G, H, M, S. Likewise, an x can be used for the second letter designator when referring to all seals with the word, such as H2x in lieu of H2D, H2T. This suggests that 12 of the 21 seals were made prior to the attack, the first significant evidence to support this datum came from the landmark excavations at Timnah led by George L. Kelm and Amihai Mazar. Several hundred seal impressions made on the type of jar handle have been found in the same contexts as the LMLK stamps. Over 50 types have been documented, and most of them have a 2-line inscription divided by two parallel lines. Some have an icon in addition to the inscription, others are strictly anepigraphic, in 1948, Israels postal authority chose the Z2U seal design for the first series of postage stamps to include the name of the renascent state. Five multicolored values were printed in sheets of 300, otte Wallish designed the stamps, which have distinctive tabs written in Hebrew declaring, Flying Scroll, LMLK Seal Stamped on the Wine and Oil Jugs Given as Tax to the King. Israel released the stamps on September 26,1948 in time for the October 4 observance of Rosh Hashanah 5709, the Jewish New Year, types of LMLK seals, Archaeology of Israel Grena, G. M. LMLK--A Mystery Belonging to the King vol, redondo Beach, California,4000 Years of Writing History. Part 1 Digging Deeper into the 1948 Festival Stamps, Timnah II, the Finds from the First Millennium BCE, Text. Qedem 42, Monographs of the Institute of Archaeology, cS1 maint, Multiple names, authors list Ussishkin, David

9.
Pashupati seal
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The Pashupati Seal is the name of a steatite seal that was discovered at the Mohenjo-daro archaeological site of the Indus Valley Civilization. The seal depicts a figure that is possibly tricephalic. It was once thought to be ithyphallic, an interpretation that is now mostly discarded and he has a horned headdress and is surrounded by animals. He may represent a horned deity, the figure has often been connected with the widespread motif of the Master of Animals found in ancient Near Eastern and Mediterranean art, and the many other traditions of horned deities. The seal was uncovered in 1928-29, in Block 1, Southern Portion of the DK-G Area of Mohenjo-daro, at a depth of 3.9 meters below the surface. Mackay, who directed the excavations at Mohenjo-daro, and dated the seal to the Intermediate I Period in his 1937-38 report in which the seal is numbered 420, giving it its alternate name. The seal is formed of steatite and measures 3.56 cm by 3.53 cm and it has a human figure at the center seated on a platform and facing forward. The legs of the figure are bent at the knees with the heels touching, the arms extend outwards and rest lightly on the knees, with the thumbs facing away from the body. Eight small and three large bangles cover the arms, the chest is covered with what appear to be necklaces, and a double band wraps around the waist. The figure wears a tall and elaborate headdress with central fan-shaped structure flanked by two large striated horns, the human figure is surrounded by four wild animals, an elephant and a tiger to its one side, and a water buffalo and a rhinoceros on the other. Under the dais are two deer or ibexes looking backwards, so that their horns almost meet the center, at the top of the seal are seven pictographs, with the last apparently displaced downwards for lack of horizontal space. Most significantly he identified the seal as a prototype of the Hindu god Shiva. In a 1928–29 publication, Marshall summarized his reasons for the identification as follows, in the first place the figure has three faces and that Siva was portrayed with three as well as with more usual five faces, there are abundant examples to prove. Secondly, the head is crowned with the horns of a bull, thirdly, the figure is in a typical yoga attitude, and Siva was and still is, regarded as a mahayogi—the prince of Yogis. Marshalls analysis of the Indus Valley religion, and the Pashupati seal in particular, was very influential, on balance the proto-Śiva character of the seal has been accepted. And Alf Hiltebeitel noted that, following Marshalls analysis, nearly all efforts at interpreting the religion have centered discussion around figure, a lot of discussion has taken place about this seal. While Marshalls work has earned some support, many critics and even supporters have raised several objections, doris Srinivasan has argued that the figure does not have three faces, or yogic posture, and that in Vedic literature Rudra was not a protector of wild animals. However, Mahisha, has striking resemblance to Mahesha, an epithet of Shiva, and thus Pashupati, Shivas vehicle, or vahana Nandi and this further provides evidence for the connection of Pashupati seal as being a proto-Shiva archetype

10.
Seal knob
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Seal knob, sometimes also seal sculpture, refers to the hardstone carving or small decorative relief at the head and front of a seal. The associated carving technique is called knob carving, a technique that originated in ancient China and later spread to other East Asian countries, including Japan. In ancient China, during the Zhou, Qin and Han dynasties, after the Qin and Han dynasties, it was also known as Yin Niu, and Yin here stands for seal. In this sense a seal knob could also be called a seal head, accordingly, the knob carving technique is also named touke, the sculpture carving of head. The head of a Zhou or Qin seal is often a bar, handle/stem, tile, during these periods, seals were normally official and used in government business. Private seals were not so commonly seen and were mainly for very high ranked officials and nobles, the head of the seal, which was called Niu, rarely had artistic elements. Its use was just for convenience in handling the seal, such as a ring to hang the seal on a waistband with a cord. In the Han dynasty, the head of seals commonly represented turtles or pyramids, which have a long life, during the Tang and Song dynasties, governmental seals were still the most dominant, and their style continued those of the Han Dynasty. In the late Yuan dynasty, some famous specialized seal artists or craftsmen appeared, in the mid and late Ming dynasty, seal sculpture became truly popular among artists and scholars for the first time. Together with the Kang-Yong-Qian period of the Qing dynasty, these are considered as the periods of seal sculpture. Seals, especially the emperors seal, featured a Chinese dragon or a Qilin, the so-called dragon-turtle is also seen. The techniques to make a seal sculpture are the same as for sculpture in other hardstone carvings, though the area to be carved is very small, for many private seals, such as those of artists, calligraphists, and painters, a wide range of subjects are depicted. The sculpture of their seals could be pets, landscapes, or other symbols of to their lives or rusticity. Often seal sculpture is combined with the side-engraving of the seal, all of the three are basic elements to make a perfect seal, or the basic elements of seal art. Seal, a general view of the topic Seal script. Notes 中国印纽雕刻网 The art of seal sculpture How to make a seal sculpture

11.
Sealing wax
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Sealing wax is a wax material of a seal which, after melting, hardens quickly forming a bond that is difficult to separate without noticeable tampering. Wax is used to something such as a document is unopened, to verify the senders identity, for example with a signet ring. Sealing wax can be used to take impressions of other seals, Wax was used to seal letters close and later, from about the 16th century, envelopes. Before sealing wax, the Romans used bitumen for this purpose, formulas vary, but there was a major shift after European trade with the Indies opened. In the Middle Ages sealing wax was typically made of beeswax and Venice turpentine, the earliest such wax was uncolored, later the wax was colored red with vermilion. From the 16th century it was compounded of various proportions of shellac, turpentine, resin, chalk or plaster, and coloring matter, the proportion of chalk varied, coarser grades are used to seal wine bottles and fruit preserves, finer grades for documents. In some situations, such as seals on public documents. On occasion, sealing wax has historically been perfumed by ambergris, musk, by 1866 many colors were available, gold, blue, black, white, yellow, green and so on. Some users, such as the British Crown, assigned different colors to different types of documents, today a range of synthetic colors is available. Sealing wax is available in the form of sticks, sometimes with a wick, the stick is melted at one end, or the granules heated in a spoon, normally using a flame, and then placed where required, usually on the flap of an envelope. While the wax is still soft, the seal should be quickly and firmly pressed into it, the modern day has brought sealing wax to a new level of use and application. Traditional sealing wax candles are produced in Canada, Spain, France, Italy and Scotland, since the advent of a postal system, the use of sealing wax has become more for ceremony than security. Modern times have required new styles of wax, allowing for mailing of the seal without damage or removal and these new waxes are flexible for mailing and are referred to as glue-gun sealing wax, faux sealing wax and flexible sealing wax. Bulla Papal bull Tamper-evident Sealing Wax

12.
Stamp seal
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The stamp seal is a carved object, usually stone, first made in the 4th millennium BC, and probably earlier. They were used to impress their picture or inscription into soft, unfortunately, the device of the seal has seldom survived through time, it is usually only their impressions. A major exception are the cylinder made of stone, of which examples of their ancient impressions have survived as well. Ancient Near Eastern seals and sealing practices Bulla Cylinder seal Impression seal Indus script LMLK seals from Lachish, landmarks of the Worlds Art, The Ancient World, by Giovanni Garbini, General Eds, Bernard S. Myers, New York, Trewin Copplestone, London, c 1966. Numerous examples of the Cylinder seal, separate Discussions of Stamp sealing, P. Yule, Early Cretan Seals, A Study of Chronology

Robert Campin's Mérode Altarpiece of 1425-28 has a highly complex iconography that is still debated. Is Joseph making a mousetrap, reflecting a remark of Saint Augustine that Christ's Incarnation was a trap to catch men's souls?

Seal knob (印纽), sometimes also seal sculpture, refers to carving or small decorative reliefwork at the top or side of a …

Image: King of Nanyue imperial seal knob top

The seal sculpture here is water waves and a salamander (only half of its body can be seen) with its hind leg holding a coin. It combines the natural colors of the seal stone very well. On its front surface is the side carving, indicating the date and place of making this seal.